


Ready, Set, Rock!

by Oregano_Cactus



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional pain, Gen, HAPPY ENDING!!, RPG AU, abigail's the dps sebastian's the healer and sam's the bard, also sam is trans and its canon, i love these trio of nerds, little bit of violence? nothing too graphic, theyre all just having a good ol time!, this is like. an au btw this isnt dnd or smth, top ten dumbasses: sebastian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 12:09:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17161751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oregano_Cactus/pseuds/Oregano_Cactus
Summary: Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail are a trio of traveling heroes. They fight for money, for pizza, for pretty much whatever they need (mainly pizza). In this installment of their adventures, the three valiant heroes try to defeat a horrifying monster with psychic capabilities!Secret Santa gift for nuclearmage on tumblr (2018) !





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoy, nuclearmage !! it's a little trio-heavy, but i tried to make it focus on sam a bit more ^ ^ happy holidays!

Sam strums his guitar, and a stream of deafening music pours out—hits the boss ( _ Stop calling it a Boss, Sam, take this seriously!) _ and takes a pretty good chunk out of its rather sizable wings. Huh, it turned out he did more damage that he thought. They’re nearly done with this monster, soon they’ll be able to collect their money and soon Sam can have that pizza he’s been eyeing since they entered the tiny little town looking for some extra cash and some fun. 

He’s daydreaming about the pizza, with extra cheese and some cola too, when he hears a kinda choked off  _ hngrk _ from next to him and looks over to see Sebastian clutching his shoulder and kinda waving his arm, like  _ it’s fine it’s fine don’t worry _ except he doesn’t look fine? There’s blood there, and he’s looking even paler than normal which is a little worrying. “Abi! Do you have any healing potions left to use on Sebastian?” he yells, and Abi just glances from where she’s charging up her sword and sighs. “No I don’t, I just used the last one a couple minutes ago and anyways, he’s our healer, what business does he have going and getting himself  _ hurt _ —” Sam tunes Abi’s yelling out, and rustles through his pouch to try to find something. There’s half a bottle left of a draught Sebastian brewed a couple weeks ago, which doesn’t sound good but it’s probably better than nothing? 

He uncorks it, ignoring the increasingly frantic hand gestures from Sebastian for the most part while he gently pours the…weirdly blue (?) liquid over the shoulder. It’s only when he notices his hair rustling a little  _ too _ hard that he looks up to find the monster divebombing them like an annoying fly that could also probably kill them all.  _ Oh shit, _ he thinks. He shoves the potion into Seb’s hands, and casts some kinda spell he barely remembers the name of that forms a swirl of notes around them so they’re safe for just a little bit longer. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?” Sebastian yells. “ _ I CAN’T MOVE MY SHOULDER, ASSHOLE!” _ Oh. He probably should’ve remembered. Sam grabs it from Sebastian’s hands, splashes half of the remaining amount on the offending arm, and then takes his face (“Woah, what the fuck? Hey, WHAT—”) and shoves the rest down his throat. Another job well done, his logic is impeccable, etc etc. Never mind that Sebastian is currently spluttering through the blue potion dripping down his armor, he’s sure it’s  _ fine _ . 

It’s at that moment that the spell expires, and the music shatters in a discordant (hah) chord. “ABI! We could use a little help over here, y’know! Hello?” Sam shouts. “Hello? Help? Our beloved DPS? Our honorable damage-dealer? Our Big Smack Smack Make Things Die lady?” 

“Oh my god, hold your horses. I’m coming,” Abi says from behind him. She grabs the crossbow off of Sebastian’s back, who is  _ still _ complaining about the potion, and fires off a couple bolts at the nasty bitch in the sky. It’s looking a little ragged, and he’s sure a couple more attacks can finish it off and then he can have that pizza he’s been dreaming of. He  _ does _ have a lot of mana left…

“Abi, you’re on babysitting duty! Anddddddddddddd…Pass!” Sam slaps Abigail’s shoulder bracingly, once again ignoring Sebastian’s spluttering, and readies his guitar. 

“Wait!” He hears Seb yell. “At least let me heal you before you do something dumb. Hold on.” He sighs, steps back into the the little huddle, and lets Sebastian pass a hand over his wounds quickly before stepping out AGAIN. 

“C’mon, you little rat! Are you ready to rock and roll?” He’s cast an amplifying spell on his voice, and as he takes another breath, he sees his friends cover their ears. Good choice on their part. “Let’s rock this joint!” 

Sam gives a couple preliminary tuning chords, and it’s clear that even these are dealing a little bit of damage to the monster—small mercies! He takes a deep breath, grabs his guitar pick, and starts an absolutely DEVASTATING (if he does say so himself) solo of Living on a Prayer  that unleashes a massive wall of sound towards the creature. His fingers are stinging a little bit, but otherwise? Right as rain. It’s awesome to be the one in charge for once, and he’s pretty sure he can take this fucker down in one more hit if he’s careful, and he’s GOING to be oh so careful. Like a little cloud. Or a marshmallow. 

A note rings out, and he’s gearing up to scream the monster into oblivion when it…starts looping around? It’s winding around in circles, and figure eights, and all sorts of other weird shapes he can’t figure out. It’s a lot more difficult to hit it now, and he’s wondering if he should try a super-attack or go for some smaller ones; after all, Sebastian’s nearly recovered and that should mean Abi would be free soon to help… 

The monster makes the choice for him. It stops looping, and just as Sam’s about to send out the finishing blow, counters with some kind of psychic wave that sweeps over the battleground. It’s hurtling towards them at an incredible pace, and it’s clear; that wave is about to hit his friends. With what little time he has, he shouts out a couple lyrics and strums once, setting up a hasty barrier around the other two that’s shimmering blue and red. It’s in the seconds before the wave hits that Sam thinks,  _ Oh, maybe I should’ve gotten under that with them _ and then—then, he doesn’t have the space to think anymore. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shit goes down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: emotional hurt, feelings of worthlessness? self-doubt  
> it turns out this was more emotional than originally planned! whoops :3

The wave washes over him, and in the next instant he  _ is _ the wave, and it’s terrible in there. It’s just kinda. Dragging all the memories he most definitely does not want to deal with forefront, and he thought he was over that time he forgot his science fair project in 6th grade by now, but  _ apparently _ he wasn't! It’s lighter memories that get dredged up first, ones like his mom getting mad at him for adding the eggshells to a baking mix and embarrassing himself in front of his elementary school choir by trying to sing a song  _ much _ too high for him. Those aren’t so bad, he’s just about done thinking about them altogether, and it’s almost easy for him to laugh at them. Almost. 

The next wave hits, and the darker parts of his mind start clamoring for attention. His dad leaving, an ever-present wound on his heart. His brother telling him that he didn’t need Sam anymore, that he was all grown up. The governor of the little town he’s from, Lewis, looking at his music and his tiny little notes in the grass like it was a stain on the town. Being made fun of for his magic. It’s not pleasant memories, and he kinda wishes that he could just turn his head and look away—but how do you look away from the wave when you  _ are _ the wave? 

Sam thinks it’s done, thinks that he can maybe dive under the next one and come up gasping but no worse for wear when the next one comes for his throat. It’s not a wave anymore, might as well call it a tsunami, and any illusion of control he thought he had is shattered. All the worst thoughts of his life, the ones he didn’t even know he had are all coming up, and his throat is tightening and his eyes are screwing closed like when he’s about to cry. 

_ He’s not good enough to be a mage. He should just give up.  _ He wishes Sebastian were here. He’d bump his shoulder, tell him that he’s plenty fine enough for them.  _ She’s just a rotten delinquent, never will become anything in his life. What must her parents think, letting a girl like her just run wild. She’s too tomboyish. _  He wishes Abigail were there. Abi’s even wilder than he is, and they’d giggle together under a berry bush while her father goes almost insane looking for her. She’d shush him and when he mentions that he ought to be getting home, she’d call him a momma’s boy but point him towards a shortcut nonetheless.  _ He’s useless. Doesn’t know how to do anything. His friends are so much more talented than him; Abigail’s a stunning young woman who can wield a sword twice her size and get whoever she wants and Sebastian’s the mysterious young man who’s literally necessary to their survival and a healer so powerful that he once brought Sam back from the brink of death. And what does Sam do?  _ He wishes his friends were here. They’d make it ok.  _ Sam sits there and plays some Bon Jovi. Useless. He can’t even do the one thing he was supposed to do properly, and play some goddamn music.  _ Abi would probably tell a joke, and Sebastian would tell him to quit being so dumb.  _ His shield probably didn’t hold. Sebastian’s not healed, and it’s your fault. _ He’s very tired.  _ He should give up. Stop resisting. _ It’s the best idea the little voice has had yet, and he just kinda slumps over on the battlefield. It’s better this way, probably. The other two  _ (the stronger two, the more useful two) _ could probably take care of this a lot better than his little guitar could. Sam slips away. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ladies and gentlemen, we got em

“—KIDDING me, what bastard thought they could get away with this, I’m going to kick some heads tonight and no, Sebastian, you’re sure as hell not stopping me since I seem to notice that I have a very large sword and you are currently sporting only your tiny little fists. Shut up.” Abi’s voice is very loud next to him, and she’s mad at something. Maybe him? He pushes up onto one elbow, but his head is pounding and he’s not too sure why. “No, not you dumbass, stay down. SEB! Get over here and heal him or something, please.” 

Sebastian wanders over, grabs his hand and mumbles that he's sorry about the whole mind juice thing (huh?), then does the good ol healing wave that has Sam feeling like he could take on a moving truck. Unfortunately for him, it’s in the next instant that that truck hits him, and he remembers. His mouth opens, and desperate to break the thin veneer of awkwardness he says: “So, uh. Good game, amiright? Did we get him?” 

Abi walks over to him, takes a breath and says, “Hey you know you’re cool right like you’re cool and useful or whatever and you’re pretty funny too and you’re important to the team because we goddamn need a magic user that isn’t Sebastian’s dumb ass and we are your friends and think you are very cool also PLEASE don’t ask where I found out your angsty backstory because I think some of the spell thoughts you had kinda bounced their way into the barrier which, by the way, thanks since neither of us got blasted with mind juice also let’s never talk about this again. Cool.” 

It kinda leaves him reeling, but he’s got the general sentiment. Sebastian just sorta turns half a shade darker than normal, says, “Uh. You’re cool. Thanks for the blue gatorade potion of healing,” and then gives him an awkward smile that screams “I hope you understand what I’m trying to say”. It’s nice to have his friends around him again, even if they are stupid and none of them know how to cook beyond cup noodles. Sam’s a lot more content now that some dumb brain-wave thing isn’t trying to mess up the good years he’s had with his emotions, and his friends are actually worried about him, so life isn’t that bad (Take that, weird psychic wave! He yells to the sky. I’m fucking cool!).

“Uh, thanks! Did we kill him though. I feel like this is a really crucial part of this talk that we are leaving out,  _ did we kill him guys _ —” Sam says, and Abi cuts him off with a laugh. 

“Yes, Sam, we did kill the bastard. Don’t worry about it.” Oh, thank god. The day was saved, they were heroes, yadda yadda and now Sam could finally get his pizza. 

It’s probably cliche to ride off into the sunset, but he’s tired after some weird emotional wave thing dragged up all his past insecurities and then he and his friends had a SECOND weird emotional thing (which probably helped a great deal in remembering that yes, he was the coolest person around and he was happy with the wild ride that was his life) that again, left him even more tired. At this point, all he wants to do is grab that pizza. “Hey guys, crazy concept but what if we stop for—”

“Yeah, we know, pizza. I want anchovies,” Sebastian calls, and Sam suddenly feels his second wind coming on. 

“ANCHOVIES Abigail do you hear this man, he’s crazy, out of his mind, who in their right mind would want ANCHOVIES on their pizza. We’re getting extra cheese pizza and Sebastian can’t do anything about it.”

“I’m telling you, you’re just uncultured and can’t appreciate the taste.” 

“Me, uncultured? Why,—” Abigail’s laughing, pizza is promised and Sebastian is still the worst person he’s ever met in the world. Honestly? Sam’s pretty happy with his lot in life, playing Bon Jovi when he wants and kicking ass in battles. It’s nice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope yall enjoyed !!!! for those who caught it, yes sam is a trans dude !!! actually you guys probably could tell since its in the tags, but hes a trans dude. trans rights. i hope you enjoyed this fic, nuclearmage and anyone who reads it !!! ^ ^


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